Alex Lees credits experience on and off field for delayed England call-up

England’s preparations for the second Test against New Zealand, which starts at Trent Bridge on Friday, have been boosted by the apparent recovery of Jack Leach, withdrawn from the opening match after an hour’s play after suffering concussion in the field. Leach will be assessed again on Thursday but is on course to prove himself available for selection, while Ben Stokes is said to be fully fit despite bowling gingerly in the nets on Wednesday afternoon.

Should there be any doubt over the captain’s ability to bowl England may decide to bring in another seamer, Craig Overton, with Leach and Matt Parkinson, who replaced him in the team at Lord’s, missing out. One bowler they will certainly be unable to call on, for this or the final match in the series at Headingley in a fortnight, is the injury-plagued Ollie Robinson, who, after an injection in his back on Tuesday, has been ruled out of action for at least three weeks.

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After England’s victory at Lord’s, secured by Joe Root’s brilliant unbeaten 115 in the second innings, it seemed a lot of credit was being given to a couple of unlikely recipients. “The openers did a brilliant job throughout the whole game. In low-scoring games, 20 or 30 runs can be massive,” Root said. Stokes added: “Leesy’s only got 20 but it’s the best he’s looked in an England shirt. It’s something we’ve told him.”

Alex Lees certainly looked more fluent in scoring 20 off 35 in the second innings than he had in his seven previous knocks for England. But again he was dismissed for a score in what has become his signature range – in six innings since his forgettable debut in Antigua in March his highest score is 31,